


Different

by katling



Series: Zer0 Sum Game [2]
Category: Borderlands
Genre: Alien physiology, Blow Jobs, M/M, Slight Asphyxiation, lack of time sense, they got distracted
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2015-12-07
Packaged: 2018-05-05 10:38:04
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5372267
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/katling/pseuds/katling
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Set the morning after <a href="http://archiveofourown.org/works/5363096">You've Been Watching Me</a>. Axton wakes up and considers Zer0. He then discovers some more particulars of alien physiology, Zer0 tells dick jokes, there is sex then the consequences of forgetting to keep an eye on the time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Different

**Author's Note:**

> Note: This is basically my headcanon for Zer0 and what he looks like and why he wears what he does.

Axton winced as he slowly swam towards consciousness. His head was pounding and he vaguely remembered liberating a bottle of Mordecai’s best booze. Then he remembered where he’d headed with that bottle and he realised he was lying in a bed that distinctly wasn’t his in nothing more than his trousers and there was a warm body curled up against his back and an arm thrown over his waist. A quick glance at the three-fingered hand confirmed that his memory was hazy but intact.

He rolled over in Zer0’s loose embrace and found the sniper was, like him, in nothing more than his trousers and that he was still fast asleep. He’d come to Zer0’s room the previous night not expecting anything except perhaps to be politely turned away. He’d know he was taking a gamble but he was pretty sure he’d been reading the sniper’s responses to his flirtations correctly and as it turned out, he had. He hadn’t expected Zer0 to actually remove his helmet though. He’d expected that they might talk and perhaps do a little fondling but that the helmet would stay where it was. Because he knew he’d been right – Zer0 needed that helmet.

He glanced at his watch to check the time and realised that he would have to wake Zer0 soon. Eight hours, he’d said. He didn’t think Zer0 would just drop dead after eight hours, more that the first signs of illness would appear. If he were take a guess based on the slightly lower level of oxygen in the room, he’d guess oxygen was Zer0’s problem. Too much of it anyway. Axton could feel the lower oxygen level in the room but it wasn’t serious. A small headache, which was probably as much because of the booze, and a vague sense of light-headedness. Nothing that would impair his senses or his judgement though.

He took the opportunity to take a good look at Zer0. He’d been a little distracted the previous evening but now he had an opportunity. Zer0’s skin was an odd greenish-blue and it was softer that he’d thought, which explained the all over protective suit. He was completely hairless from his head down to the waistband of his trousers. Axton could only assume that he was hairless everywhere but they hadn’t gotten that far. Certainly Zer0’s fascination with the hair on his chest supported that idea. The sniper had spent quite a bit of time running his fingers through it and nuzzling into it. Axton hadn’t minded, mostly because it felt good. He never really minded anything that felt good.

He looked at the hand that was loosely curled up against Zero’s chest. It was odd to see only three fingers and a thumb but it was kind of growing on him. Zer0 had certainly proven that it was no detriment to a bit of fooling around and Axton could only wonder how it would feel to have that hand grip his dick or to feel those long slender fingers press into him. He shifted slightly on the bed as the heat of arousal began to bloom in the pit of his stomach.

He shifted his gaze to Zer0’s face. Last night, he could have sworn he saw hesitation and uncertainty lurking in Zer0’s odd eyes before he’d grinned at the sniper and he could kind of understand why. Zer0’s face was anything but human even if it had a basic humanoid construction. His eyes were a little larger than might be seen in a human, tilted at about a thirty degree angle and triple-lidded. Zer0 had explained the purpose behind the two nictating membranes but he couldn’t remember what they were right now. He did remember that Zer0’s eyes were completely black except for the iris which was a gorgeous red-gold colour. His irises were slitted like a cat’s and Axton had been delighted when he realised that the more relaxed and aroused Zer0 got, the more his irises expanded from slits into round circles.

He couldn’t help but reach out now and run his fingers along the prominent cheekbones of Zer0’s face. The sniper didn’t have a nose, just two diagonal nasal slits, and his mouth was thin and lipless and hid some very sharp pointed teeth and a long flexible tongue. It all made him look like something of a cross between an Earth cat and a serpent but Axton kind of liked it. And while he was a touch wary of those teeth, he had some interesting mental pictures about what Zer0 might be able to do with that tongue. And despite lacking lips, Zer0 had proven to be very creative when it came to kissing and had professed that he rather liked the human activity.

“You are watching me/Don’t stop. I rather like it/I don’t think it odd.”

Axton grinned as Zer0 opened those strange eyes of his. “Well, if I have official permission, I’m going to be doing lots of watching.”

Zer0 snorted, his nasal slits flaring wide momentarily. He then echoed Axton’s gentle touch to his face with one of his own. “Just pay attention/When we face our enemies/Don’t get killed too much.”

Axton nuzzled into the touch. He’d always liked this sort of quiet affection. Sarah had found it odd that he was a cuddler but Axton had never felt embarrassed about it. He just liked affection, probably just as much as he liked sex, maybe even more.

“You’ve got about thirty minutes before you’ll need to put your helmet back on,” he murmured.

As he watched, he saw Zer0’s eyes widen and surprise washed over his face then the sniper pressed their foreheads together and his fingers flitted over Axton’s face in the little caresses that Zer0 had explained were what his people used instead of kisses. The skin on their faces, apart from being very soft, was also very sensitive and Axton figured the sensation of the touches was probably fairly similar to a kiss.

“Nothing about me/Seems to bother you at all/How is this, Axton?”

“Well… why should it?” Axton said, a bit nonplussed. Okay, intellectually he could understand why people might be taken aback but so what? “I mean, Zee, you’re intelligent and funny and pretty damn awesome. So what if you look a little different? That just makes it more interesting.”

Those little flitting caresses became more intense and Axton suddenly wished his skin was as sensitive as Zer0’s. He’d bet they’d feel pretty damn amazing right now if he did. Not that they felt bad but he’d be betting these ones would be making sure he was sporting one hell of a boner pretty damn quick. Not that he wasn’t already halfway there, what with the thoughts he’d been having earlier. Then Zer0 leaned forward and pressed his mouth against Axton’s, his agile tongue more than making up for the lack of lips, and halfway there became _all_ the way there.

“Holy hell, you’re good at that,” Axton breathed when they finally broke apart. “Geez, one night and you’re already a better kisser than anyone else I’ve been with.”

Zer0’s mouth quirked in a small smile. “Good for my ego/My head is inflating now/Something else as well.”

Axton laughed. “Damn, Zee. Dick jokes in a haiku. You’re good.”

Zer0 pushed him on his back and he went willingly, dragging the sniper along with him so that the man was sprawled of top of him. He knew Zer0 wouldn’t be able to miss the effect he’d had on him but he couldn’t feel any answering hardness. Which made him curious. He slid his hands down the smooth soft skin of Zer0’s back and cupped his arse, unable to stop himself from rutting up against the warm body on top of him. That was when he realised that Zer0 had gone very still.

“Everything alright, Zee?”

Instead of answering, Zer0 wriggled around until he was kneeling between Axton’s legs, his head cocked curiously as he looked at the bulge in his pants. He reached out with one hand then stopped just shy of touching. He gave Axton a querying look and the commando nodded. He shifted his shoulders into a more comfortable position as Zer0 undid his trousers and pulled them apart. He raised his hips and allowed Zer0 to pull them down around his thighs along with his underwear. He then started to giggle at the wide-eyed look of sheer bafflement on the sniper’s face.

“Okay, I’ve seen a lot of different expressions when people look at my dick but that’s a first.”

“You just… it’s… you leave it unprotected,” Zer0 said, completely unable to compose a haiku in his surprise.

Axton grinned. “No haiku. Damn, I’m good.” When Zer0’s look of shock didn’t subside, he sobered a little. “Nope. They just hang out there. Why?”

Zer0 hesitated for a moment then he deftly undid his own trousers and shoved them down. Unlike Axton, he wasn’t wearing any underwear and thus he was fully on display. Axton stared a little at what had been revealed. His idea that Zer0 was completely hairless was confirmed and he had what looked like a kind of slit where his genitals should be.

“Whoa,” Axton said, completely intrigued. “So yours are tucked away in there? All safe and sound.”

Zer0 nodded and his tone became rather academic, as though he was reciting something he’d learned at school. “The scrotal sac remains internal but the penis emerges to urinate or for copulation.” There was no way he could have constructed a haiku for that so he didn’t even try. He could see the way Axton’s hand was twitching towards his body. “You may touch.”

Axton needed no further encouragement. He reached forward and gently cupped Zer0’s entire genital area. The moment he made contact, Zer0 threw back his head and groaned. Axton grinned, making a mental note that the skin there was as sensitive as anywhere else, perhaps even more so, and ran his fingers along the slit. He then licked his lips and let his fingers slide inside. Inside it was warm and slightly slick and he could feel the sniper’s warm length pushing forward.

“ _Axton_ ,” Zer0 groaned and Axton gently coaxed the man’s member out of the slit. 

When he did, he stared and licked his lips again. Zer0’s penis was long and slim like the man himself and the skin was so soft over the warm hardness with an interesting line of ridges that ran along the length on both sides. He realised that when Zer0 was soft, those ridges must form something of a protective sheath. It made him briefly wonder what kind of world Zer0 was from that his people had evolved like this. He trailed his fingers along those ridges and it wasn’t difficult to figure out from the delicious noises Zer0 was making that they were very sensitive. 

“Fuck… Zee… I want…” 

He tugged Zero forward and, after a moment’s confusion, the sniper seemed to realise what he wanted. Looking stunned, Zer0 allowed Axton to pull him forward until he was straddling his chest, one hand braced against the wall, and then Axton sucked the tip of Zer0’s dick into his mouth. The yowling noise Zer0 made was inhuman and so full of startled pleasure that Axton started to wonder if this was the first time anyone had ever done this for him. If that was the case, he intended to make it good. 

He drew Zer0’s length fully into his mouth until his nose was nudging the slit. Zer0’s alien scent was all around him like that, a dark, spicy, oddly earthy scent that he wanted more of. He let the sniper’s dick slide almost all the way out of his mouth then tugged at his hips suggestively as he swirled his tongue around the subtle head. Zer0 was hesitant at first but Axton kept encouraging him until the sniper finally began to gently fuck his mouth. He hummed his approval and Zer0 bucked forward with a curse that was in a language that Axton had never heard before and Axton mentally congratulated himself for reducing Zer0 to his native tongue. 

After that, the sniper braced both hands against the wall and began to move more confidently. Axton moaned and sucked at his dick as a reward. He pulled out all the tricks he knew but it was when he dragged his tongue along the ridges on the bottom of Zer0’s length that the sniper finally wailed and bucked forward, spilling over into his mouth. Axton swallowed the other man’s spend and let his dick slip from his mouth and retract back into its slit. He hummed at the spicy-sweet taste that was left behind and decided he wanted to do that again. Many times. As many times as Zer0 would let him.

That was when he realised that Zer0 wasn’t gasping wordlessly because he’d just had his brains sucked out of his dick. His face was taking on an odd grey tinge that didn’t look healthy at all.

“Oh, shit.” Axton gently but quickly manoeuvred Zer0 onto the bed then he yanked up his trousers over his now panic-softened cock and hurried over to the table where Zer0 had left his helmet. He picked up the various pieces and brought them back. “Hey, Zee. Here. Show me how to put this on you.”

With a series of fluttering, slightly panicked gestures and gasped instructions, Zer0 indicated how to put on the neck piece then the head piece and finally the faceplate. Once the faceplate snapped into place, Axton heard a low hiss and then Zer0 slumped forward and rested his head on his shoulder, simply breathing as the tension in him began to unwind.

Axton wrapped his arms around Zer0’s shoulders and waist and pulled him close. “Okay, next time we get caught up in the nookie at the _start_ of the eight hours, not at the end. ‘Cause, you know, I like leaving my partners breathless but not like that.”

Zer0 made a small querying noise. “There is a next time?/I did not reciprocate/I neglected you.”

“Dude, Zee, enough. You not getting sick and dying was way more important than me getting off,” Axton said. “And of course there’s a next time. I mean, if you want it?”

“Yes,” Zer0 said then he raised his head and the emoticons on his helmet flicked through :), <3 and then ////// and his fingers flitted over Axton’s face in those little caresses again.

Axton chuckled and caught one of Zer0’s hands, pressing a kiss against his palm. “Awesome.”


End file.
